A Different Fate
by EvangelinaPurica
Summary: Sarah has died, at the hands of the Troll king. Now, Jareth has taken interest in another girl in the human realm; one who isn't entirely human. Will she let him help her, after all she's been through? First Fic, suck at sumaries, just read it mk? J/OC
1. Chapter 1

Ashley:

Ashley was a girl who no one ever payed any particularly good attention to. Her parents were murdered when she was born, and her old caretaker Mason was a sexually abusive man. At her school, no one liked her. They all would always tell her to 'Go die' or 'Kill herself already' because they wished she'd never existed. It's not that Ashley had done anything wrong, but it was as if since her birth, someone had been making things hard for her. Her only comrades in life were her books. She would often read old plays of Shakespeare, or occupy her time with other old plays that she adored. The only good thing about Mason, Ashley thought, was his library full of amazing literature. She was permitted to spend countless hours there, until Mason would call for her. As he used her, she would lock down her mind to his tortures, and focus only on the stories in her books. One of her favourites over time became the Labyrinth. The story of the girl and the goblin kingdom was close to her heart, and when Mason permitted her sleep, she would dream of the Goblin King taking her away to his castle. One night, when Mason had used her more roughly than normal, and hadn't given her any food, she was desperate. In her desperation, she grabbed a knife, and about to end her life, screamed, 'I wish the goblins would come and take me away from here, RIGHT NOW!' The room spun, and she soon found herself in the goblin kingdom! She was amazed at its beauty, and the complex labyrinth she saw spread out in front of her. _I must have gone insane completely, now, _she thought. Nonetheless, she went towards the labyrinth, hoping desperately that this WASN'T just an insane illusion; that it was real.

Jareth:

Jareth had been bored as of late, and found a girl, Ashley, that was having a horrible time in her life in the human realm. She wasn't human; Jareth knew this for a fact. Her parents were fae, and were killed by the Troll King at her birth. He had just recently found her in his crystal, and had occasionally gone to the human realm as an owl to watch her. She didn't seem to know she could make her life so much better with the power she held. It was a shame, really, that she would only wish to die if given a choice. He had tried to leave her alone, but couldn't help sending her dreams of the goblin kingdom, of him taking her to his home, and treating her as such a noble fae should be treated: with respect and dignity. One night, he watched her in his crystal with a knife in her hand, when she said the words. He didn't need to use his magic; hers was powerful enough to get her to the goblin kingdom in an instant. He laughed as she glanced around her in awe, dropping her knife, as she saw what she had done, and where she was. He would greet her soon enough, but he first wanted to see how she would fare in his Labyrinth…. Only one other human had bested it in centuries. And she had died three years after the fact, at the hand of the same King whom had killed Ashley's Fae parents.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO: What He Does

She navigated his labyrinth, Jareth noted, in much the same way Sarah had. She befriended every creature she found, but was clearer that she wanted to get to the castle, and so her friends showed her the most direct route. She was quickly outside the castle, and there she decided to rest. Jareth watched her intrigued, wondering why she didn't just enter his castle, and ask of him whatever she wanted. He saw the girl just sitting, talking softly to the pixies and faeries of the garden. She seemed to be quite at home in the Underground, like it was all natural for her. This would have surprised him more, but even with her human upbringing, her fae background shone brightly in the labyrinth. He wondered if she knew how to use the magic she had….

"Well, I believe I have enough energy now," she said softly. He watched in quiet surprise as she slowly floated off the ground, and directly into his window. She landed silently, and looked at him as if seeing more than just a person standing in front of her. She quickly bowed to him.  
"Your Majesty," she said, "I wish to ask of your assistance, if you would care to give it." She stood again before him, waiting.  
"Well, go on then, girl. Speak." He spoke regally, as anyone should have expected. Ashley quickly told him of her hardships in the human realm; of Mason's abuse, of the harsh humans hate for her differences, of her parent's deaths when she was born. He was caught off guard as he felt sympathy for her. Life had been especially rough on her. She was asking, now, to be permitted to sleep in his gardens, promising she would be no trouble at all.  
"Yes. You may sleep in my garden. But I shall only allow you to stay there if you become one of my subjects in the castle. You will tend the gardens and do as I say, and no harm will come to you here." Ashley was astounded. She had never expected something so generous of the _Goblin King_. She thanked him gratefully. "It's no trouble." He replied, grinning. "You will do everything I say." Something inside of her told Ashley that this could never turn out well, but she was happy to have a place to stay at all.

Jareth was pleased to have a new fae as his subject. If she knew how to use her magic properly, she could serve him better than any goblin could. He also noted that it was nice to have a fae around the castle. She could talk intelligently to him, help care for the wished away children in ways only a woman could, and do her job all while being nicer to him than most of his subjects. She reminded him of Sarah, with the same hair, and eyes the same color, but nowhere near as cruel. She was a beautiful creature, in his opinion, and he was glad of her service and company. She catered to his every whim, as he'd expected, and had never complained thus far. He was already treating her as more than a servant; he was treating her almost as a friend. He allowed her to eat with him, and let her attend the balls he held for the other kingdoms. He was nicer to her than he'd been to anyone but Sarah, and he was almost glad she'd been wished to the underground. Things were well, until Ashley started to get sick. She started to become paler and weaker, but Jareth sensed her magic was steadily growing stronger. It was as if her magic was taking all of her energy. He was more concerned for her than he would admit, and took it upon himself to find why her magic was consuming her, and how to stop it. As she slept, he went to the Kingdom of his Parents; the Kingdom of Dreams. His mother was the wise woman almost all the underground would consult in times of need. As he arrived, his mother greeted him. He told her of the situation and her face grew serious. "She doesn't know how to control her magic, Jareth. It wants to be free, and the only way it can achieve that is for her to die. You must teach her the ways of magic, Jareth, or she will soon die." He was shocked that just her lack of magical knowledge could harm her so greatly. He went quickly back to his castle and waited for Ashley to wake, so they could start getting her well and training her magic.

Ashley woke, feeling drained even more than had the day before. She felt something draining her but couldn't tell what it was exactly. Jareth was quickly beside her in the garden and explained the situation. "So… I'm dying because I can't use my magic properly?" she asked, perplexed. "Exactly." He replied gravely. Their magic lessons started with basics: learning to control the flow of magic. Jareth thought this would start to restore her strength quickly. She was a quick learner, and was soon letting her magic flow through her hands and feet. It was flowing through her, into the air, and the release of this magic made her feel lighter and let some color return to her face. Jareth told her that most of the time, every magical being was letting some of their magic escape. The reason she'd become so frail was that her magic had built up too strongly. When she was listening to him, however, she stopped controlling her magic, causing her to pale and weaken. "Don't worry," he said, amused, "you'll get used to controlling it constantly. So with that in her mind, he left her alone in the garden to get to practicing and tending her flowers.


End file.
